Sermon Tone Analysis

MBC - 7~/4~/2004 - Pastor Doug Thompson

*/“The Wrath of God Revealed”/*

Romans 1:18

 

Ø      ROM 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

Ø      ROM 1:19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.

Ø      ROM 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

Ø      ROM 1:21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Ø      ROM 1:22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,

Ø      ROM 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

Paul has just introduced the gospel in vv.16,17, and then he launches into the wrath of God.

Why?

 

Let me read you an account of the conversion of David Marks, an early American evangelist: He was born to godly Connecticut parents in 1805, and his awareness of God began early in life.

The incident that started him thinking about the Savior was a day when he was watching some flax burn.

He had heard of the fires of hell, and as he watched the flames, he thought how exceedingly dreadful even one moment in hell would be.

“What would I do if the wrath of God fell on the earth?” he asked himself.

After serious thought, he decided that should the Day of Judgment come, he would descend into the well and hide there.

Running to his mother, he shared his plan; but she replied, “Ah, my son, the water will boil and the earth will burn.”

He then told her that he would run to a spot he knew in the rocks where he could hide.

She said, “But the rocks will melt.”

He was so overwhelmed with dread that he told her he would just die and escape the wrath of God in the grave.

But she replied, “My child, your hope is in vain; for the dead will awake and come out of their graves.”

Young David went outside and walked through the fields, pondering at length the reality of that coming day and his being unprepared for it.

Putting his hand over his heart, he looked toward heaven and said, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.”[1]

*I.

The reason for beginning with wrath.*

V.

18 begins with “for,”--meaning that there is a connection with what came before:

 

Ø      ROM 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Ø      ROM 1:17 For in it /the righteousness of God is revealed/ from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith."

Ø      ROM 1:18 /For/ [or /because/] /the wrath of God is revealed/ from heaven . .

.

Why do we desperately need the revelation of God’s righteousness in the gospel?

Because, God’s wrath is also continually being revealed from heaven.

Ø      We need righteousness.

We don’t have it.

We need truth, but what we possess, we suppress.

God’s wrath is the result.

Is there any hope?

Yes, the gospel is the power of God to save because it reveals God’s own righteousness to anyone who will trust in Christ.

This passage, beginning in v.18, is not the gospel, it’s the preparation for the gospel.

We have to acknowledge the disease before we will seek the cure.

A person has no reason to seek salvation from sin if he doesn’t understand that he is condemned by that sin.

Sometimes we talk to people about being born again before they understand that they are dead.

And we tend to talk about God’s love before we mention His wrath--

 

“. . .

now wait a minute, are you saying that we should tell people about the wrath of God before we tell them about the love of God?”

 

Well, that’s what Paul does here in Romans.

Paul seems to think that fear of eternal damnation is a perfectly reasonable motivation for coming to Christ.

He does the same thing in Ephesians.

Before he explains God’s love and grace in chapter 2, he begins:

 

Ø      EPH 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins. . .

by nature a child of wrath. .

.

When John the Baptist preached, what was his message?

“Repent!

Flee from the wrath to come!” and Mk.1:14,15 says this--

 

Ø      MAR 1:14 Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,

Ø      MAR 1:15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; /repent/ and believe in the gospel."

The truth is, in the Bible, there are more reference to God’s anger, fury, and wrath, than there are to His love and compassion.

In the OT, there are more than 20 Hebrew words used to describe God’s wrath.

Why?

 

Ø      --Because the good news can only be understood against the backdrop of the bad news.

So Paul spends the first 2 ½ chapters of Romans explaining that all of mankind, outside of the gospel is drowning in their sins, deserving God’s wrath, they have no desire to seek God, and they can’t climb out of this black hole by keeping the Law.

This is why we need God to give us His own righteousness and we need it to come by His grace through faith, because we can’t climb the hill of personal holiness to get it.

And if you think that this sounds negative or depressing, I guarantee you that when we finally hit 3:21, the Hallelujah Chorus will come through the speakers!

And you will love and cherish the gospel as never before because you will understand the enormity of your need, and the magnitude of God’s grace in the gospel.

Ø      Some of you have seen the video “EE-taow,” about the New Tribes missionaries in Papua New Guinea.

They began teaching this primitive tribe called the Mouk, the Bible, beginning with Genesis 1:1.

They didn’t begin with the gospel, they just laid the foundation, going through the entire OT story of God’s people failing and stumbling, and waiting on a Savior.

Then finally they came to the NT and told the story of Jesus--but when they heard about how He was rejected, and hated, and betrayed and crucified, this entire tribe was crushed.

They were sad, they felt guilty, they were depressed.

And the missionaries told them to go back to their huts for 3 days and just think about all that they had heard.

Ø      Then after 3 days, they called the tribe together, and they read the account of the resurrection of Jesus, and explained what it meant.

And right in the middle of this, one of the older men shouted out “EE-taow!

EE-taow!”--I believe, or it is true!”

And then the whole tribe just erupted: “EE-taow!

EE-taow!,” and they were jumping up and down, and celebrating, and it went on for hours!

Over 80% of the tribe came to Christ in that one day.

*II.

The revelation of God’s wrath.*

Ø      “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven. . .

“

 

What is the wrath of God, and how is it revealed?

First, it’s the wrath of /God/--not man.

It is /divine/ wrath, and it is consistent with the rest of His character.

We make a big mistake when try to think of God’s attributes as just magnified or blown-up human attributes.

When we do that, we create Him in our image.

But God isn’t like us.

And His wrath is not like ours.

You and I get angry and we lose control, get red in the face, and generally lose our sanctification.

But God’s wrath is always perfectly righteous and controlled.

It is never irrational or arbitrary.

It is His holy anger against all that is contrary to His own holiness.

Paul says that it is revealed against “all” ungodliness and unrighteousness--it is absolutely consistent, impartial, and dependable: God hates all sin, all the time, and all sin will be the target of His wrath:

 

Ø      NAH 1:2 A jealous and avenging God is the Lord; The Lord is avenging and wrathful.

The Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies.

Ø      NAH 1:3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, And the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.

In whirlwind and storm is His way, And clouds are the dust beneath His feet.

Ø      NAH 1:4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; He dries up all the rivers.

Bashan and Carmel wither; The blossoms of Lebanon wither.

Ø      NAH 1:5 Mountains quake because of Him And the hills dissolve; Indeed the earth is upheaved by His presence, The world and all the inhabitants in it.

Ø      NAH 1:6 Who can stand before His indignation?

Who can endure the burning of His anger?

His wrath is poured out like fire And the rocks are broken up by Him.